An examination of the role and relative importance of provider and program characteristics that influence quality of care offered by child care providers, and an exploration of whether these differ for providers receiving subsidies. The project augments existing quantitative and qualitative provider data collected in five communities. A total of 417 center directors and 536 family child care providers, caring for children under age five for at least 40 hours per week, are included in a sample of subsidized and unsubsidized programs. A second project phase examines how these factors play a role in decision-making as providers decide how to allocate resources related to program quality. The study informs policy and program choices about: (1) how provider, market, community, and subsidy policy factors shape the quality of child care; (2) the relative importance of these factors; and (3) whether the factors and their relative importance differ for providers receiving voucher-based child care subsidies.